Northern Rail staff set to hold further 24-hour strike

Louise Cooper

Staff at Northern Rail are set to hold a further 24-strike next month in a row over the future role of guards.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out from 00.01am to 23.59pm on Saturday April 8.

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said the industrial action was the result of rail bosses failing to guarantee the future role of guards on trains.

He added: "This dispute, and the industrial action we have announced, were entirely preventable if the company had listened to the unions deep-seated safety concerns, had taken them seriously, stuck to their earlier commitments and had put passenger safety before profit."

Northern Rail said revised services will be in operation on the day of the strike, with further information being released shortly.

A spokesman for Northern said: “We have been clear that we want RMT, along with our people, our customers and stakeholders, to play a role in bringing our modernisation plans to life. We want to work with everyone on how we modernise the way we provide customer service and continue to run a safe and reliable railway.”